Revolution Pirates - On The Verge
by MythicalZoan
Summary: <html><head></head>Follow the story of Nikola D. Verge , a 16 year old with dreams from the Grand Line city, Mercury, on his adventures as a Revolution Pirate. Freed by Dragon, the city Mercury is no longer a cage to Verge who will begin his journey with one goal in mind: The One Piece. He has a long way to go so watch as he fights tougher enemies, builds a crew and sails for freedom and friends!</html>
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1.5 (language errors, emotive language edited)**

~On an island somewhere on the Grand Line~

"The revolutionaries are here! They're here to free us! Wake up, take up arms and help the revolutionaries to defend our city!" the town head, screamed, running through the town at roughly 3a.m, "Dragon himself came here for us!"

Woken by his frantic cries, I jumped up in my bed. Thick curls of brown hair covered my deep, black eyes. I looked down at my chocolate brown hands and felt their coarse texture. I looked into the mirror on the opposite side of the room. They say that in the morning, light bounces off one's mirror, bringing good fortune to one. But in the night… darkness is all that reflects off of the mirror, and with it, it brings evil spirits which cloud one's dreams, creating nightmares…

All I saw in the mirror was me. My toned arms and legs which I had been training for so long now… For a single-minded purpose…I trained harder than ever before after that day…

_~flashback~_

_The waters surrounding our island were always calm. Even in a storm the waters refused to budge, as if they had a stubborn streak in them. _

_ However, today, seven years prior to the present, the waves seemed to surge and leap up higher than ever before. The choppy waters rolled in and brought a ship. It was a marine ship. _

_ None of our city's warriors bothered meeting them, concerned only when Pirates came. If they did come, it still wouldn't have been any different. It'd just end with mounds of dead men._

_A man wearing the 'JUSTICE' coat disembarked first, his teeth bared like a shark. Powerfully built and at a staggering height of what seemed like two men, he intimidated all, including his own men. He walked straight into the centre of our proud city, Mercury, and announced that from today onwards, the city belonged to him. _

_Every form of communication with the outside world was confiscated and the penalty for every crime was death. We lived in virtual darkness, total fear, but for someone my age, life hadn't changed much. _

_ I trained with my best friend, Zoe, every day. She was three years my senior and swordswoman. Although I was a hand to hand combatant, with my iron skin, I was able to spar with her every day, toughening my body and mind. She only used one blade, the only thing she had received from her parents before they left to journey the seas. _

_ I remember, after every fight Zoe would run into the stream which flowed into the ocean. She would rinse the sweat off her forehead, gracefully flipping blazing red hair to the back. She would then turn towards me with her trademark grin, an ear to ear smile showing off all 32 teeth. Her eyes would never sparkle brighter than when she smiled… Ruby red eyes… She always wore clothes meant for boys and this suited her just fine. _

_What was strange was that she never used strength in her swordsmanship, but some sort of predicting ability. She could fight me with her eyes closed and it wouldn't make a difference to her. She described it as being able to tell how something would move based on its 'breath'. She would use my excessive speed and force against me, controlling my movements subtly until she had full control of the battle. With the threat of her blade, I would dance like her puppet until she had me cornered. I never won._

_ She was taught how to use her ability by her father when he was still around, and she started teaching me that ability which she called, "Haki", on the day that she had died._

_ We were training in the shadow of a great vessel by the beach, and I was blindfolded. For a while, she was talking to me and telling me what to do, but the next moment her voice faltered and stopped completely._

_ She tensed and tightened her grip on my shoulder before letting go. I reached for the knot of my blindfold but she grabbed my hand and whispered in my ear, "Keep the blindfold on. Just wait a moment." I just nodded, slightly unsure. Her voice had a tremor in it which I still can't explain. Was it fear? An uncontrollable urge to kill? I still don't know._

_ Then I heard another voice coming out of the forest path which led to where we were. That voice immediately stopped as it reached the edge of the forest, where the beach comes into view. _

_ I think Zoe was just standing still looking in the direction of the voice. The other voice spoke again, but this time at us, "Hey you kids, you know, if you want to play in the shadow of my great ship, you'll have to pay me." His words dripped with venom, and I knew that no amount of money would pacify him._

_ It was Daemon, of course, and I knew that not a day had passed since he arrived that Zoe didn't visit the graves of the soldiers. I heard the distinctive grinding of her sword being unsheathed. Although I didn't like the idea of her fighting him, I was confident that she would win, just like a nine year old would be confident that his father was the strongest in the world. Thwe battle lasted less than a minute. _

_I heard a few slams and then a series of sickening, slick movements. It sounded like a spear being repeatedly pulled in and out of flesh. I immediately removed my blindfold and saw her sword in Daemons side. I was jumping with absolute glee, and also a little bit of horror at the sight of blood. I ran towards Zoe, copying her grin. _

_I quickly realised something was wrong though… She was standing as still as a statue._

_Then a bloodcurdling cackle. "You move fast for a 12 year old, girl. But not fast enough." Daemon was facing my direction and Zoe with her back to me. _

_Daemons men came out from the forest, shocked that he had suffered injuries at all. I was walking towards them with extreme caution, and a strange fear coursing through me. Daemon then fell flat on his back, but Zoe remained standing in the exact same position. Did she win?_

_As I took the final step toward Zoe, time slowed down and my legs turned to lead. I could hear the reverberation of my heartbeat in my ears. When I glanced at her, I swore my heart skipped a beat. From her beautiful eyes streamed thin lines of tears. My own eyes shifted down to her body. I couldn't look up; my mind had wandered into an abyss of nothing and my beliefs, shattered. Blood oozed out of finger deep holes throughout her torso. My chest felt like exploding and I unconsciously took a step back._

_I nearly ran. I nearly abandoned her. But her voice reeled me back in._

_"R-ru..n."_

_The sound of her voice intensified every feeling in my body, and something hot trickled down my face, landing on my palm._

_It was my tears._

_My chest tightened. I was already planning to run, to leave her behind. How could I? I felt something hot run down my face, and I caught it in an open palm. It was my tears. My eyes hurt with burning ache, and I felt like screaming. I knew I'd die if I stayed a second longer, but I couldn't get my legs to move an inch._

_Then someone started walking towards me in my peripheral vision._

_I ran for all I was worth, but he broke into a dash and easily caught up to me, grabbing me by the collar. I frantically waved my arms and legs, blood-hot tears running down my face and a longing in my throat to cry out._

_As I was about to resign myself to the fate of death alongside Zoe, one of the other men behind me shouted, "We struck it rich! This is one of them twelve great swords! It's worth millions!"_

_The man holding me promptly let go of me and he ran with a pitiless smile of greed on his face toward his comrade. _

_I picked myself up off the ground and continued running as fast as I could back home… I don't remember anything that happened after that except that I woke up and my father was sitting next to my bed, stroking my hair with his wet, teary hands._

_~Back to the present~_

A fierce storm brew overhead and the winds picked up to gale speeds. "How poetic... the weather is mirroring the people's feelings…", my father spoke, barely audible thanks to the whistling of the wind, "You're leaving to fight Daemon, aren't you, Verge?"

"Course I am. I've been waiting to do this a long time. Even if Dragon is here, I'm still gonna be the one to kick Daemon's ass. Count on it." I spoke in a joking tone, but I was dead serious.

"…I knew you would say that and I know how you feel…Which is why I'm coming with you."

"Dad, I know, you still don't trust me but I **AM** strong now. I can do it. Or is it because you think I don't have the guts to kill him? Well I do so you don't need to come."

"That's not the point Verge, no one has the right to take a life. I know you want to kill him and that's why I want to come with you. To make sure you don't. The revolutionaries are idiots, thinking they can save the world from the world government by killing off everyone they deem 'evil'. Well, in my opinion, they're just as 'evil' as the government and it doesn't matter if they free us from them or not."

"…"

"I just hope that whatever you do in life, you do with no regrets. If you kill Daemon, don't you realise you will regret it? Regrets don't wash off as easily as blood. How you felt when Zoe was killed… don't you think making sure no one else feels that way, even if it means not killing someone like Daemon is the right thing to do?"

Lightning flashed and as I turned away from my father, someone appeared at the doorway. The rain seemed to bend around him, keeping him dry, as if he were the eye of the storm itself.

"You're right, you know. I am evil, I suppose, but aren't I the lesser of two evils? A world without evil is wishful thinking. Hell, it's impossible as long as there is greed within us. All humans are greedy, and some more than others. Poverty, slavery, the imbalance in value of a person's life, these are what give rise to the one's whom we call 'evil'. Their greed is stronger than others' and this is why they seek the power to impose their wills upon those without it,", he pronounced with a voice completely unaffected by the screeching gales, "you've heard me say this plenty of times though, Julius, so I know I won't be changing your mind. I was actually just talking to Verge."

Lightning crackled once more, this time striking the silhouette standing at the doorway. It was the smile of a Dragon.

"Julius, stay at home. I'll see to it that Verge doesn't do anything stupid."

_~En route to the Central Plaza~_

We were on a type of locomotive which was powered by a paramecia or logia fruit eater. I think it was a steam steam fruit eater, but I only got to see him for a second. I sat across Dragon, who sat with his eyes closed, but his smile still seemed as wide as ever.

I was sort of creeped out so I tried to avoid looking at him. Instead, my eyes wandered around the carriage. It seemed quite luxurious; seats with plush red dyed leather, a glass table with legs made of the darkest oak, a miniature chandelier hovering over our heads.

Eventually, I looked at him again. His face had red, straight-line tribal-like tattoos which actually seemed fitting. He seemed to be concentrating in fact, and his presence itself seemed intimidating, as if he was leaking his uncontrollable power… This is what the most dangerous man in the world was like. Despite this, I still felt comfortable near him, as if his power only affected others when it suited him.

"My dad was never a Marine or a Revolutionary… How could you possibly know him?" I asked him with a strange fascination, and mild fear. I didn't know what to think of him nor of my father.

"That's right. He was neither of those. He was a Revolution Pirate though. The first and last of that kind, and the most dangerous type of pirate there is. A Revolution pirate doesn't loot towns or create instability, but instead, brings down the corrupt and follows his own moral compass to wherever it takes him. This type of pirate follows his own dreams and makes friends of his own to go on great adventures with. Come to think of it, my own son is a revolution pirate in his own right…" Dragon spoke ominously.

"What makes them so dangerous then?"

"Their danger is only to the World Government, and they are dangerous to them not only because of their deeds, but it's because of their will. Your name… Nikola D. Verge, represents your will… A Revolution Pirate often has the willpower to pose a threat to the World Government itself, a threat similar to the army I've amassed to overthrow the government. Your father was one of most dangerous pirates in history, second only to Gol. D. Roger."

With every answer he confused me more and before I got the chance to ask him what he meant, the locomotive came to a jerking halt, and when I looked out the window, all I could see was pure darkness. The steam-steam man came into the carriage and signalled for us to disembark the carriage. I instinctively led the way for all three of us to the central plaza since I was the only one who knew the layout of the place even in the absolute blackness of the stormy night. Or at least, I think they didn't know. Either way, it was my mission so I was going to lead no matter what.

We arrived at the edge of the web-like labyrinth of alleys snaking around and leading to the plaza, and for some reason I could hear the voices of the men in the plaza over cacophony of rain drops pelting the ground.

"We have no choice but to leave before Dragon gets here…" his voice trailed off. It was undoubtedly Daemon.

I ran full-force towards Daemon, a retired Rear Admiral of the World Government who has decided to use the power of his friends in G-7 to take over our town, and the darkness thinned, allowing me to see Daemon's ugly mug barking out orders to his subordinates.

I focussed my will on my thumb and index finger, and they became jet black. Then, I flicked my index finger up and down to store static electricity in my thumb. The crackle of electricity was sounded and Daemon turned just in time for me to deliver my signature move, **"Particle Smash",** an uppercut followed by a cracking of my thumb, releasing the stored static electricity as a burst of lightning arcing through Daemons body. I growled as I struck him, my eyes bulging and my pent up pain, anger, sadness expelled as a collective roar.

The static would stun him for a few seconds but it was mainly to intimidate his subordinates so that they wouldn't bother trying to fight me. This was just between me and Daemon.

Just as I was about to lunge onto Daemon to pulverise him with a downward punch to the ribs, he executed a technique to move at bullet-like speeds, **"Shave",** and my world turned upside down.

"Riddling Finger Pistol", Daemon quickly jabbed his finger at my torso as I was falling to the ground, trying to fill me with holes like with Zoe. "No!" I felt my chest harden unconsciously as I reflexively focussed my energy there, to ensure that his finger would never pierce through. His index fingers made excruciating cracking sounds and I think they broke. All of this happened in a second and I felt the thud of my back hitting the ground.

Daemon grimaced and his eyes narrowed, his expression seething hot fury. **"Iron Body – Leg",** he rasped, smashing his shin into the ground where I was at as I rolled away and picked myself up, and a crater formed.

I was sure that such a force should have broken his leg, but it seems that it had no effect on him, as if he really made his leg as hard as iron. His fingers, his body, they were all weapons, but for some reason, his skin never turned coal-black like mine. It seemed that he had trained his body to its physical pinnacle.

An idea formed in my head and I quickly coated my finger with the dark hardness of my will while vibrating it as fast as I could. The friction with the air made it red hot, but the black layer protected me from its intense heat.

**"Nova Finger Pistol",** I pushed off the ground and jabbed it towards his chest. He easily avoided it with speed which shouldn't be humanly possible. I continued flying through the air and my finger melted through a wall, forming a glowing hole with melted brick at its core.

My destructive power was useless if I couldn't somehow catch up to him. Another idea sparked in my head – quite literally. I pumped energy to my hands to form layers of dark will, and rubbed them together to produce static electricity.

"Verge, you know that as long as you can't hit me, electricity or fire can't possibly hurt me. That is an impressive ability though, your **Haki**."

"Who said anything about striking _you_ with electricity?" I retorted, before placing my hands on the back of my head and releasing a controlled amount of electricity at the point on my spinal cord's connection to my brain. It was just a theory, and a painful one at that, but I thought that if I could speed up my electrical impulses, even if I couldn't move any faster, I would have much faster reflexes capable of seeing him move.

Everything went blue. I could see everything in my field of vision perfectly clearly, but in a tinge of blue. Then I saw Daemons muscles twitch as he poised to move, and he smashed his feet into the floor one two… ten times. With each kick, his movements got faster, but they were perfectly clear to me, and I saw him dash and leap to meet my face with his foot. My body, though, was still too slow to do anything, so I instead concentrated a layer of defence onto my face, and soon felt the dulled thud of a foot smashed into my cranium.

I felt a little too smug. "Now's my chance", I thought inwardly as I grabbed his leg and swung him onto the floor, but I couldn't let up for a second so I quickly formed my finishing attack, "**Nova Finger Pistol",** and jabbed straight towards his heart. Well, I tried to, at least.

A hand suddenly appeared in my field of vision and grabbed my wrist a centimetre from Daemon's chest. It was Dragon. He let out his energy on purpose this time, and for some reason, Daemon started foaming at the mouth and passed out.

"You don't need to kill him," Dragon was now leaking some of his energy towards me, and I felt a bit light headed, and my killing intent subsided.

With my eyes closed, I reflected and felt guilt gnawing at my chest that I was about to ignore my father completely and avenge Zoe. I turned to Dragon, but he was gone. In fact, as soon as I opened my eyes, the weather seemed perfect.

I don't know what to do now, but I think it's time I explore the world. The greatest treasure and freedom in the world… It drives men crazy and not one has found it since Roger. I never once thought of the future so hard before, but I am sure of it. I will be the one to find it. The One Piece.

~End of Chapter 1~

**Please Review this and tell me where you liked it :3 and… and also where you might maybe possibly not have sort of liked it? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Announcement: I will be updating every chapter I write for better language to portray emotion in different situations, language errors and such. Please do point them out to me if I have missed them. I do try to proofread but there are some mistakes which elude me too. Thank you :) Also, this chapter will be a short one, but that's why I am upgrading chapter 1 to 1.5 along with it too, so please do read it!**

_~Outside the Nikola Residence~_

Although it had stopped raining, it was still pitch black, it being the middle of the night and all, and so I walked cautiously back home, still wired from the battle with Daemon. I was just a bit roughed up from the battle, but more than exhausted and so I wouldn't regale Dad with my amazing battle stories no matter how much he begged me to.

It took about half an hour but I could finally see the house. I gazed at our two storey building as I walked toward it. Even in the dim moonlight, I could make out it's marble coloured paint, classic brick structure, double layered glass windows and sooty chimney… Wait a minute… the fire should still be going right now… Our city, Mercury, was given its name from the strange fact that the temperature plummeted at night, and it seemed to smoulder in the day.

I quickly made my way into the house, and thanks to the lack of the fire, the house was pitch black. "Dad?" I called out, not really expecting a response but hoping for one nonetheless. Where the hell could he be at this time in the middle of the night? I made my way into the kitchen to look for the matches and I took a step forward into the dark room. By this time my eyes had adjusted to the dark enough to make out the various details of the kitchen.

Nearest to me was the brick slab and wash basin, meaning the drawers where the matches are kept should be… ah here they are. They were just opposite the slab on my right, next to the metal water storage tank.

Groping for the handle of the drawer, I noticed something. There was an object on the storage tank… a shell? I ignored it for the time being. First thing's first, gotta find the matches.

Finally having found the matches, it wasn't long before the room was illuminated by a phosphorous glow. I took a closer look at the shell-thing and realised that it was one of those skypiean dials that Dad used to show me. Some of them were crazy dangerous, so he never let me touch them.

I walked into the living room, my fingertips burning a little from the close heat of the match. The fireplace was all set up to be used, and so I just lit up the tinder with the match and got the fire going.

I took a closer look at the dial. It seemed a bit dangerous to push the button in the house, but I preferred to stay indoors. I pointed the dial outside the window, and thankfully there was nothing directly outside there. I held my breath tight, got my stance ready for recoil, still trembling a little, looked away from the dial and pushed the button.

Nothing happened. For a second. Then, a voice came out.

"Hohoho, I bet you were quite worried there, huh, Verge?" It was dad… This must be a sound recording dial… "This Sound Dial has a time limit so I have to make this short. Dragon told me that he already explained to you what I used to be back then. Why I was a Revolution Pirate though... Originally, the Revolutionary group was started by him and I. We worked together and with our similar ideals, nothing was impossible. It was then though, that Roger was executed. It changed everything. He was, without knowing it, one of the keys to our plan. We were completely unaware of his illness and so… Well never mind. We needed One Piece, or at least, a part of it, to complete our plan. Dragon, although completely against the idea, couldn't stop me from trying to obtain it myself. I came second to Roger in the end though. I had overcome every obstacle, beat every opponent, but I couldn't reach it. It was the fault of the D in the end. Four years of my life, wasted. My name is Nikola Julius after all… The D. in your name comes from your mother, Verge… I cannot explain this to you, but just bear in mind the Will of the D. It's in your blood, Verge, but I won't tell you what to do. Instead, I know you'll do it, and that's why I have to do something. In time, you will listen to this dial again. And when you do, you will hear me say what I am going to do. What I am going to do is-" The dial stopped playing… The time limit was exceeded… I grasped my head with both my hands, grit my teeth and tried to make sense of it all. What about the D? What does D even stand for? How the heck would I hear him talk further than the time limit?

Calm down, Verge, think about what you DO know. I know that Dad was a Revolution Pirate. It's pretty obvious he wants me to become one too. Why? No, no, focus on what you do know.

I played it again, and I think he means the D. in my name has a special meaning. It is supposed to help me do what he couldn't. Well that's about everything I can make out from his obscureness.

As if the world itself wanted to laugh at me, the first rays of sunlight permeated the darkness of the dark morning sky, and brought clarity to my vision. Clarity, which I could not find in his garbled message. Dad… where are you?


End file.
